Tag Archives: Floral Park

When he first campaigned for City Council two years ago, retired NYPD Capt. Joseph Concannon ran on the Reform Party line and was trounced at the polls on Election Day by the incumbent, Councilman Mark Weprin.

Now that Weprin is out of the City Council and in with the Cuomo administration, Concannon is going for the now-vacant 23rd Council District seat again, but this time as a Republican.

Concannon is scheduled to formally announce his campaign on Monday, alongside Queens GOP leaders and supporters in front of the 105th Precinct stationhouse in Queens Village.

“Over the past few weeks and months, my close friends and family have been encouraging me to take my zeal for public service and community activism to the next level,” Concannon said in a press release issued Thursday. “Many of my friends as well as the people I meet every day express their dismay with the current leadership in the City Council, our mayor and the direction this city is headed in as a whole.”

While five Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination in the September primary, the Republicans appear to be unifying early around Concannon. Sources with the Queens GOP indicated earlier this week that he is the only Republican seeking the seat.

More evidence of GOP unity was noted in Concannon’s press release, which listed Queens GOP Chairman Bob Turner, Councilman Eric Ulrich — the lone Queens Republican in the city legislature — and Queens Conservative Party Chairman Tom Long as guests scheduled to attend the campaign launch.

In August 2013, Concannon launched a challenge to then-Councilman Weprin after the City Council passed into law the Community Safety Act, two bills bringing greater oversight to the NYPD and aiming to end “bias-based profiling.” Concannon opposed the act, claiming the regulations would impede police officers in their service, and received the support of numerous unions representing members of the NYPD.

Even so, Weprin was re-elected in November with 84 percent of the vote in the district covering all or parts of Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village.

Since then, Concannon has remained politically active in holding rallies calling for public support of the NYPD, most recently following the murders of Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn last December, and P.O. Brian Moore in Queens Village in May.

“Not since the violence and division this city faced decades ago have people felt so disconnected from their government,” Concannon said in Thursday’s press release. “I am running to restore some respect and common sense to our local government, the kind of common sense that is embarrassingly lacking in the NYC Council.”

Concannon added that he plans “to spend the next few weeks and months earning the right to be their voice and champion.”

Comedian Susie Essman, best known for her portrayal of the profanity-laced character Susie Green, which she played for eight seasons on Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on HBO, performed at a dinner show on June 13 celebrating the 40th anniversary of North Shore Towers in Floral Park.

To watch Susie Essman perform, one would never think the Bronx-born stand-up comedian had anything else in mind as she was growing up.

“I never really wanted to be a stand-up comic when I was a kid. It wasn’t on my radar,” she said. “I wanted to be a comedic actress from the age of, I don’t know, 5, a Broadway musical comedy actress.”

It’s natural to think someone who makes their living being funny came from a funny family, but on paper — as the saying goes — with a father who was an internist and a mother who taught Russian language, frivolity would seem to be wanting in Essman’s childhood setting.

“It was a family with a good sense of humor. Let’s put it that way,” she said. “My father was not funny, but he thought he was. When I was 5, I remember my parents brought home “The 2000 Year Old Man” album. I used to play that over and over again. They had all the Elaine May and Mike Nichols records and I used to listen to those all the time. They always took me to see Broadway shows and things like that. It wasn’t a funny family per se, but there was a sense of humor there.”

By high school, Essman focused her acting itch toward being more of a comedic sketch artist in the Carol Burnett mode, “but I never did anything about it,” she confessed.

Despite her desires, Essman wasn’t a theater major in college. She attended SUNY Purchase and in her own words was “intimidated by theater majors.” After graduation, she moved to Manhattan and finally followed her dream, taking acting classes.

It was several years before the comedian even set foot in a comedy club and that was through the urging of her workmates. The year was 1983 at a place called Mostly Magic on Carmine Street in the Village: “When I was 28 years old, everybody that I worked with at the restaurant talked me into getting up at an open mic…and I did. But it still never occurred to me to be a comic.”

Fortunately, the thought did occur to a couple of comedy club impresarios who were in attendance that fateful evening.

“There were these two guys there, Paul Herzik and Burt Levitz; they were opening up this comedy club in the Village called Comedy U on University and 13th Street,” Essman said. “They said, ‘We really like you; will you come work at our club?’ I never thought anything about it. Three months later, they called me. ‘The club is open; do you want to come down here and work; come down and do 10 minutes.’ Like an idiot, I said ‘Yeah, sure.’”

Those 10 minutes turned into many performances. The young owners loved Essman and she became a staple of the club: “They had this women’s night on Thursdays and I met all these other female comics; there was a lot of camaraderie. For the first six months, I only worked there, but it was only after three that I thought, ‘All right this is what I was born to do.’”

According to the comedian, her forthright approach was not discovered as much as being a part of her personality from a young age.

“I was always the kid in class that would say what everyone else was afraid to say. I was always a big mouth. And I was never taught, so much, to respect authority,” she confessed with a laugh. “My father was always kind of a rebellious guy. I picked that up from him. I was always the truth teller. Kids would always come over to me and be like, ‘see if we can get this done today from the teacher.’ I was not afraid to say anything. I think more than being funny as a kid, I was more of a big mouth.”

Ironically, the fearless persona Essman developed in her stand-up routine resulted from sheer unbridled terror. “When you start doing stand-up, you need to develop your persona. For me, it was probably defensiveness, because it’s really scary up there when you don’t know what you’re doing. And in the beginning, you don’t know what you’re doing. The only way to do stand-up is to do it in front of strangers.”

This take-no-prisoners attack mode served Essman well as Susie Green, the profanity-laced character she played for eight seasons on Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on HBO. But it has had a weird side effect off-screen, when Essman meets fans, who expect her to scream profanity at them.

“I see sometimes that they’re visibly disappointed when I’m gracious and nice,” she revealed. “It’s hilarious! That’s not me it’s an acting job that I do; I play that character on TV. I see them get visibly disappointed — their faces drop. ‘Sorry.’”

Essman has kept busy since the show went of the air in 2011. Lately, she’s guest-starred on an episode of “Law and Order: SVU,” “Broad City” on Comedy Central and “Weird Loners” on FOX. And throughout, she’s continued to perform stand-up. Her book, “What Would Susie Say?,” recently went into paperback.

When asked her favorite source material, she laughed: “My kids… and my mother. I would say she’s number one; she’s been there since day one. She never disappoints.”

Mark Weprin officially left the City Council on Sunday, June 14 — apparently three days too late for a non-partisan special election to fill his seat.

Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed on Monday that the vacancy will be filled at the Nov. 3 general election, and that the political parties will nominate candidates for the election in the Sept. 10 primary.

According to a spokesperson for the city Board of Elections, a non-partisan special election cannot occur if the vacancy occurs between 60 and 90 days of the scheduled September primary. Had Weprin resigned before June 11, the mayor would have been obligated to call a non-partisan election.

Weprin had announced in May he would step down from the City Council to join the Cuomo administration as deputy secretary for legislative affairs. At the time, he said he would leave within two weeks, but ultimately delayed his departure.

Following the traditional election format now leads to a competitive Democratic primary among previously announced candidates including former Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik; Rebecca Lynch, former assistant commissioner with the New York City Community Affairs Unit; Celia Dosamantes, former aide to Assemblyman David Weprin and Rep. Grace Meng; attorney Ali Najmi; and former City Council candidate Bob Friedrich.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face the Republican nominee in the general election. Sources close to the Queens County GOP identified retired NYPD Capt. Joe Concannon as a probable candidate.

Once the general election winner is certified, he or she will be sworn into office immediately and will fill out the remainder of Weprin’s term, which expires in 2017.

Regardless of the outcome, the 23rd Council District — which includes Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village — will be without a voice in the City Council through November. Constituent services are continuing to function from the district office, and staff members are forwarding and following up on any complaints or service requests received.

Councilman Mark Weprin gave his two weeks’ notice to the people of his district Monday, as he announced his departure from the City Council to take a job with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Weprin, 53, who has served in the 23rd Council District seat since 2010, is poised to become Cuomo’s deputy secretary of legislative affairs. He didn’t set a specific date when he would leave office, but in a statement, Weprin indicated his resignation would take effect “within the next two weeks.”

Prior to his City Council election, Weprin served for 15 years in the state Assembly, holding the seat previously held by his late father, former Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin. Mark Weprin was elected to the City Council seat in 2009 to succeed his brother, David, who made an unsuccessful run for City Comptroller.

David Weprin then won a special election in 2010 for his brother’s and father’s former Assembly seat.

“It has been an honor to represent eastern Queens as an elected official for 21 years,” Mark Weprin said in a statement Monday morning. “It has been my privilege to serve the people and families of my neighborhood. I am proud to have helped the communities I have represented to continue to be wonderful places to live, work and raise a family.”

At the start of his second City Council term, Mark Weprin was elected in January 2014 as chair of the City Council’s Queens delegation. He was also named chair of the Zoning and Franchises Committee and serves on the Land Use, Education, Economic Development, Oversight and Investigations, and Technology committees.

As deputy secretary for legislative affairs, Mark Weprin will reportedly serve as a liaison between Cuomo and leaders of the Assembly and state Senate on various matters.

“I have known Governor Cuomo for most of my life, and he is a leader of incredible talent,” Weprin added. “I look forward to this next step in my public career.”

Once the councilman’s resignation takes effect, the mayor must call for a non-partisan special election to be held within 60 days. Each candidate must secure their own party line; the established political parties cannot nominate a candidate of their own, but they may make an endorsement.

As for who may replace Weprin in the City Council, one contender has already emerged — former Assemblyman and Deputy Queens Borough President Barry Grodenchik. He confirmed his interest in running for the seat in a phone interview with The Courier on Tuesday.

Other potential contenders, as reported in the New York Observer, include Dominic Panakal, chief-of-staff to Councilman Rory Lancman; local attorney Ali Najmi; civic activist and former City Council candidate Bob Friedrich; and former City Council and Assembly candidate Steve Behar.

Four seniors — including a married couple in their 80s — were found dead inside a Floral Park home Friday afternoon, according to police, in an apparent carbon monoxide poisoning.

A relative of one of the victims reportedly made the grim discovery at about 3:15 p.m. during a visit to the home on 86th Avenue near 260th Street.

According to sources, the relative visited the location after not hearing from anyone at the home for several days. Reportedly, one of the victims—Jerry Hugel, 83—was discovered dead near a running vehicle parked in the garage attached to the home.

Police said Hugel’s wife—Marie Hugel, 80—and a tenant who lived in the apartment above them—Gloria Greco, 70—were also found dead along with Walter Vonthadden, 76, of Riverside Drive in Whitestone. Reportedly, he was a friend of one of the victims.

Officers from the 105th Precinct and Fire Department units responded to the scene; all four victims were pronounced dead.

Their bodies were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsies.

The top names in the music industry won’t be the only ones shining during the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. One former Queens resident has been given the honor to create the official artwork for “music’s biggest night.”

Laurence Gartel, who has been called the “father of digital art” and spent 19 years of his early life living at the North Shore Towers in Floral Park, has created a version of the iconic Grammy figurine that will be used on the ceremony’s program book, tickets, poster and other promotional materials.

The life-sized statuette is wrapped in “psychedelic” imagery known to be Gartel’s style using vinyl, glitter and prismatic materials.

“It’s pretty darn amazing,” Gartel said about how it felt to be chosen as the official artist for the award ceremony. “I’m always looking to top myself and this certainly tops it. It feels great.”

Gartel’s first interaction with digital art came in 1975 when he met Nam June Paik, considered to be the founder of video art, at Media Study/Buffalo in upstate New York.

Although his artistic career began when he was nine at the Pels School of Art, working side to side with Paik was what started Gartel’s electronic career.

“That was sort of the birth of it all,” he said. “Electronic images could take over a painting on the wall.”

Gartel began working on computers the size of rooms, before the invention of personal computers, and started a technique prior to any software being created for painting and photo manipulation.

“You just go up to a machine and just start manipulating things and get images you couldn’t get otherwise,” Gartel said. “When you’re creating things that no one has seen before, that’s amazing.”

Since then his colorful images and pioneering designs have been used in advertising campaigns such as one for Absolut Vodka in 1991, which ran for 10 years. He has also worked alongside musicians such as Sid Vicious and the Ramones, and created artwork for artists such as Justin Timberlake.

One of his collaborative pieces includes partnering with Glen Greenberg of Elmont Glass Atelier for “art on glass” works that premiered at Art Hamptons.

His other individual pieces have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, and in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

In the past few years, Gartel has also taken his artwork and created “art cars,” donning his colorful designs on vehicles such as a Mercedes and Rolls Royce. He was also featured in the 113th Annual New York International Auto Show in April.

With having finished the artwork for the Grammys, which is set to air Feb. 8, Gartel said he continues to move ahead with new ventures and creating unique pieces.

The treatment, which will spray pesticide from trucks, will take place between the hours of 8:15 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning. In case of bad weather, the application will be delayed until Wednesday, Aug. 20. during the same hours.

For this spraying, the Health Department will use a very low concentration of Anvil® 10+10, a synthetic pesticide. When properly used, this product poses no significant risks to human health.

The Health Department recommends that people take the following precautions to minimize direct exposure:

• Whenever possible, stay indoors during spraying. People with asthma or other respiratory conditions are encouraged to stay inside during spraying since direct exposure could worsen these conditions.

• Air conditioners may remain on, however, if you wish to reduce the possibility of indoor exposure to pesticides, set the air conditioner vent to the closed position, or choose the re-circulate function.

• Remove children’s toys, outdoor equipment, and clothes from outdoor areas during spraying. If outdoor equipment and toys are exposed to pesticides, wash them with soap and water before using again.

• Wash skin and clothing exposed to pesticides with soap and water. Always wash your produce thoroughly with water before cooking or eating.

LOCATIONS:

Parts of Corona, Forest Hills, Forest Hill Gardens, Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills, Queensboro Hill and Rego Park (Bordered by Long Island Expressway, College Point Boulevard and Booth Memorial Avenue to the north; 99th Street, 67th Avenue and Austin Street to the west; Jackie Robinson Parkway and Grand Central Parkway to the south; and Main Street to the east)

North Shore Towers (NST) residents can now safely dispose of old and burnt-out electronics without leaving the building.

The new recycling program, e-cycling, is intended to easily and conveniently recycle electronics, which must be handled separately from traditional recycling.

The program, which was created through a public-private partnership between the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), made its first collection at NST, a Floral Park co-op.

“Everybody has something they want to get rid of,” said NST Board President Bob Ricken. “We’ve already sent several bins to be recycled. We’re filling them up like crazy.”

“It’s the stuff you really [have] to make sure is handled properly,” said Ron Gonen, DSNY deputy commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability. “The world is changing. A lot of what we do now is electronic, and that means our waste stream is changing significantly.” There are currently 51 sites citywide enrolled in the free e-cycling program.

“We’re sticking to our mission to be a greener facility,” said board member Mario Carmiciano. “We made a commitment a few years ago to start going as green as we can.”

Ricken credited new board member Maria Termini-Miller, a DSNY Deputy Commissioner, for getting NST to be a part of the program.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 77. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Thursday night: Partly cloudy. Low of 55. Breezy. Winds from the North at 10 to 20 mph.

EVENT OF THE DAY: Devil Science Theater 3000

Devil Science Theater 3000 is an interactive event where the audience plays drinking games and makes fun of terrible movies while being egged on by professional comedians in the crowd! No drink minimum! Tonight’s film is The Creeping Terror (1964). Starts 10:30 p.m. at Laughing Devil Comedy Club in LIC. Click here for more info or to submit an event of your own

Huge water bugs infest Queens neighborhood

More than 30 neighbors in Floral Park, Queens, are fed up about the huge bugs that invade their neighborhood at night. Read more: Fox New York

Weiner has a heated exchange in Brooklyn with shop patron who insults wife

Democratic mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner got into a heated exchange with a bakery shop patron during a campaign stop in Brooklyn Wednesday after the man appeared to call Weiner an expletive and made a misguided reference to the candidate’s wife. Read more: NBC New York

Woman files $3M suit against NYC for false arrest

A woman has filed a $3 million lawsuit against New York City for jailing her on an old arrest warrant. Read more: AP

Despite commanding lead in polls, de Blasio anticipates runoff

Bill de Blasio’s poll numbers may be hovering above 40 percent, but the Democratic mayoral front-runner says he still expects to be locked in a runoff after Tuesday’s primary. Read more: CBS New York

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it is investigating Greek yogurt maker Chobani’s handling of a mold problem with its product after the company asked some retailers last week to remove yogurt cups from store shelves. Reuters

Almost all the noise complaints filed last month at three major airports came from Queens, according to data obtained by The Courier.

More than 700 calls about airplane noise flooded LaGuardia Airport this June, while 348 grievances came in about John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to statistics from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Out of 1,061 total complaints that poured in last month, only 18 complaints were made to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

The complaints came from almost 200 homes in Queens, mostly in Flushing and Bayside, according to Port Authority data collected June 1-30.

About 500 complaints to LaGuardia were from those neighborhoods, with a majority of calls coming from residents near Travis Triangle and Bowne Park.

Residents from across the Queens border in nearby Floral Park made most of the complaints to JFK, a total of 200.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a new flight pattern last December, much to the dismay of residents who say the procedure causes nonstop noise from low-flying planes.

The Port Authority and the FAA said they expect upcoming projects to reduce noise.

Representatives from both agencies addressed the Queens Borough President’s Aviation Advisory Council on July 22.

They said plans to soon rebuild and modernize the Central Terminal Building at LaGuardia would allow for larger planes on the runways. With more passengers per plane, that would mean fewer aircraft in the sky.

Officials also said by 2016, airports will be mandated to only use planes with engine sound-absorbing designs.

Planes going in and out of New York airports, with the exception of corporate aircraft, are currently “Stage 3” planes. The designation means engines are moved further into the interior of the plane to lessen noise.

Propellers are also shaped to deaden sound.

Barbara Brown, chair of the Eastern Queens Alliance, said larger planes would not be helpful.

“Even if flights are getting quieter, that won’t mean anything if there are more flights taking place in general,” she said.

Port Authority officials said they are also in the process of replacing 22 noise monitoring terminals and should be done by spring 2014.

They added that a public website will soon launch for people to monitor noise decibel readings and file noise complaints.

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and multiple congressmembers from the city and Long Island have called for more action. They recently sent a letter to Port Authority executive director Patrick Foye urging his agency to create an airport advisory committee.

“It is simple common sense to say that the largest metropolitan area in the country should have an airport advisory committee like the one we are proposing,” Schumer said, “a body that would help increase quality of life for locals.”

The New York state legislature passed a bill this year that would require the Port Authority to conduct a one-time study to determine the effects of aircraft noise on Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Jersey residents.

It awaits Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature in New York and ultimately needs New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s approval as well.

Wednesday: Overcast with ice pellets and rain in the afternoon. High of 41. Windy. Winds from the ENE at 10 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. Chance of precipitation 100% . Wednesday night: Overcast with rain. Low of 39F. Windy. Winds from the ENE at 30 to 35 mph with gusts to 55 mph. Chance of rain 100% with rainfall amounts near 1.4 in. possible

A bill to provide $60.4 billion in disaster aid to Northeast states ravaged by Hurricane Sandy has been quietly amended to divert some of the money to Gulf Coast states recovering from a much smaller storm. Read more: New York Daily News

NWS issues advisories across tri-state as massive snowstorm heads east

n enormous storm system that dumped snow and sleet on the nation’s midsection and unleashed damaging tornadoes around the Deep South began punching its way toward the Northeast on Wednesday, slowing holiday travel. Read more: CBS New York

Webster firemen’s killer left chilling note, deaths at 3

An ex-con killed two firefighters with the same caliber and make military-style rifle used in the Connecticut school massacre after typing a note pledging to burn down his neighborhood and “do what I like doing best, killing people,” police said Tuesday as another body, believed to be the gunman’s missing sister, was found. Read more: ABC New York

City fire marshal dies behind wheel on Christmas Eve

A city fire marshal died Monday night after suffering an apparent heart attack while driving in Queens. Read more: NY1

First of its kind Museum of Mathematics open in Flatiron District

A new museum has opened its doors in New York. This one’s geared a kids, but tackles a subject not typically popular among the school-aged set. Read more: CBS New York

Catholic schools open doors to storm-tossed students

The scene at St. Patrick School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, seemed no different from that at any other parochial school: Students stood bright-eyed and fidgety in choirlike rows around the auditorium stage, rehearsing carols for an annual Christmas pageant. Read more: New York Times

Obama to cut vacation short to deal with fiscal crisis

President Barack Obama is cutting short his Hawaiian holiday to leave for Washington on Wednesday to address the unfinished “fiscal cliff” negotiations with Congress, the White House said on Tuesday. Read more: Reuters

The word fitness is typically used to describe a person’s physical health, but financial fitness is also important for well-being.

The Queens Courier’s Health & Financial Fitness Expo on Friday, November 30, will feature both — and show how you can keep them in top shape.

At the event, sponsored by the North Shore Towers, there will be a panel, “Planning During Uncertain Times: How To Weather The Storm,” featuring keynote speaker Ronald Fatoullah, Esq., as well as ones from Premier Care, Brandywine Assisted Living, Turnpike Orthopedic, Physician Home Care, Genworth Insurance, Comfort Keepers, Sinai Chapels and Queens County Savings Bank.

The speakers will be discussing a range of topics concerning financial fitness, elder law and home care planning.

Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 15 mph. Friday night: Partly cloudy with a chance of rain after midnight. Low of 73. Winds from the South at 5 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

EVENT of the DAY: First Fridays, Summer in the Garden

The Noguchi Museum continues its summer practice of extending hours and offering free admission on the first Friday of the month. Visitors can explore the galleries and enjoy a cash bar in the outdoor sculpture garden. This Friday will feature Center of Attention, an extended conversation around a single work in the collection at 6 pm, followed at 7 pm by the film “My Playground,” a documentary about movement, tricking, freerunning, and parkour –a sport in which participants go from one city to another as quickly and efficiently as possible. Click here for more info or to submit an event of your own

Some Queens residents call on city to spray for West Nile Virus

Residents of eastern Queens are calling on the city to take a more active role in combating West Nile Virus in their neighborhoods. Read more: CBS New York

Queens gas station attendant beats drunk man to death for vandalizing cash machine

There was another killing at a New York City gas station on Thursday, but this time the victim was a drunk who made the mistake of tangling with an attendant who boxes and idolizes Rocky Balboa. Read more: New York Daily News

Vacant lot in Queens used as a trash heap

A massive mound of garbage that looks like it belongs in a landfill fills a residential lot in Jamaica, Queens. “It’s just a dumping ground. The rats have increased, the rodents,” says neighbor Crystal Bonds. Read more: NY1

Undrafted Queens product Machado signs with Rockets

Scott Machado, the former Iona College point guard who went undrafted despite leading the nation in assists, agreed to a partially guaranteed, three-year contract for the league minimum with the Houston Rockets Wednesday night, he told The Post. Read more: New York Post

President Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for a second term on Thursday night, making a forceful argument that he had rescued the economy from disaster and ushered in a recovery that would be imperiled by a return to Republican stewardship. Read more: New York Times

Market milestone: Stocks return to late 2007 level

he last time the stock market was this high, the Great Recession had just started, and stocks were pointed toward a headlong descent. Read more: AP

Learn all about the magic of film at the country’s only museum dedicated to the art, history, technique and technology of the moving image in all its forms. After you check out the exhibits, stick around for one of its evening screenings.

Not only is this zoo the largest in New York City, it is also one of the largest urban zoos in the country. Throughout the year visitors can check out its hundreds of animal species, children’s zoo, butterfly garden, camel rides and much more. [Photo courtesy of Bronx Zoo]

This 415-acre park provides a variety of outdoor enjoyment, including extensive trails, a long expanse of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean and an historic military installation. [Photo courtesy of NYS OPRHP]

The iconic Coney Island offers lots of fun, whether it’s walking along the boardwalk, riding on the Cyclone roller coaster or eating a Nathan’s Famous hotdog.

Deep Hollow RanchThree miles east of Montauk village on Route 27; turn left at Suffolk County Park

People usually think of the southwest when it comes to cattle ranches, but Long Island is home to America’s oldest one. Visitors can tour the ranch and take horse rides along the shore of Block Island Sound.

There is plenty to see (and buy) in the heart of midtown Manhattan, but one place that shouldn’t be missed is Discovery Times Square. Currently you can check out an interactive family-friendly exhibit about the secret world of espionage.

Modern art fans will love taking a trip to the home of the late artist Jackson Pollack and his wife. Famous for his drip paintings, which now sell for millions, you can see the studio where he created his famous works.

Con Edison asked customers in these areas to conserve electricity and turn off nonessential electric equipment, such as TVs, computers, air conditioners, washers, dryers, and microwaves.

To report power outages or service problems visit www.conEd.com or call 800-75-CONED (6633). When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.